Mark Cavendish
Encyclopedia
Mark Cavendish MBE
(born on 21 May 1985) is a Manx
professional road racing cyclist
who rides for UCI ProTeam until the end of this season when the team is dissolved. He will join Team Sky
at the start of the 2012 season. Originally a track cyclist specialising in the madison
, points race
, and scratch race
disciplines, he has competed on the road since 2006, rising to prominence as a sprinter
. He is the 2011 Road World Champion
champion.
On the track Cavendish won gold in the madison at the 2005
and 2008
World Championshps, with Rob Hayles
and Bradley Wiggins
respectively and in the scratch race at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
riding for Isle of Man.
As a road cyclist he achieved eleven wins in his first professional season, equalling the record held by Alessandro Petacchi
. Cavendish has won a total 20 Tour de France
stages putting him joint 6th on the all-time list with Nicolas Frantz
and joint 11th with Costante Girardengo
on the all-time list of Grand Tour
stage winners with 30 victories. Other notable wins include the 2009 Milan – San Remo classic and the points classification in both the 2010 Vuelta a España
and the 2011 Tour de France
.
, Isle of Man
, the son of David Cavendish also from the Isle of Man, and Adele from Yorkshire
. He began riding BMX
at a young age, racing at the National Sports Centre
in Douglas. He said: "I was always riding a bike, getting dropped in little races." Cavendish started racing informally at 12, as a mountain-bike rider. My mum would laugh at me, and I said it was because all my mates had mountain bikes, so I asked for a mountain bike for my 13th birthday and got one. The very next day I went out and beat everyone." It was at that time that Cavendish met David Millar
at a race on the Isle of Man. Cavendish said he was inspired by Millar. Cavendish worked in a bank for two years after leaving school. He concentrated on earning enough money to support himself as a full time cyclist later on, as he attempted to turn professional.
. He won gold in the madison
with Rob Hayles
at the 2005 UCI Track Cycling World Championships
in Los Angeles. They had not raced together before. They finished one lap ahead of the field to claim the gold medal, ahead of the Dutch and Belgian teams, giving Britain its fourth gold at the championships. It was Cavendish's first world champion's jersey. Cavendish also won the 2005 European championship
points race. He began road racing in 2005, riding the Tour of Berlin and 2005 Tour of Britain as a trialist with Team Sparkasse.
Cavendish began 2006 with the Continental team, Team Sparkasse, a feeder squad for T-Mobile Team
. In June, he won two stages and the points and sprint competitions in the Tour of Berlin. He rode for the Isle of Man
on the track at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
in Melbourne, riding the scratch race. He lapped the field with three others: Rob Hayles
; Ashley Hutchinson of Australia; and James McCallum
of Scotland
. He then beat these in the sprint to win gold for the Isle of Man. The race time was 23m 5s, an average 51.9 km/h.
His success at the Tour of Berlin led to a post as a stagiaire with T-Mobile
from August until the end of the season. His best result for T-Mobile in 2006 was in the Tour of Britain
where he came second three times and won the points classification. It brought a full professional contract for 2007 and 2008.
race in Belgium, which he won overall. He went on to win stages at the Four Days of Dunkirk
and the 2007 Volta a Catalunya
and that brought selection for the 2007 Tour de France
. He crashed in stages 1 and 2. and abandoned on stage 8 as the race reached the Alps, having taken two top-ten placings but unhappy not to have had a top-five placing. His debut season continued moving on to 10 stage wins, one behind Alessandro Petacchi
's record 11 for a début season. Cavendish took his 11th win in early October—the Circuit Franco-Belge—to equal Petacchi's record. Among the wins were three in UCI ProTour
events, the two in the Volta a Catalunya and one in the 2007 Eneco Tour.
2008 Track World Championships
in Manchester with Bradley Wiggins
, as Great Britain topped the medal table.
On the road, Cavendish won his first stages of a grand tour
, by picking two victories in the 2008 Giro d'Italia
. Cavendish won four further stages in the 2008 Tour de France
, his first coming in stage 5 from Cholet
to Châteauroux
. He won again on stage 8, stage 12 and stage 13, making him the first British rider to collect four stages in a single Tour. Overnight, at the age of just 22, he became the fourth most successful British professional in history. After stage 14, Cavendish abandoned the Tour to concentrate on the 2008 Summer Olympics
in Beijing. He and Team Columbia manager Bob Stapleton agreed that riding the Alps was a risk to his hopes. But Cavendish, with Bradley Wiggins
, failed to win a medal, finishing joint eighth in the madison. He was the only British track cyclist not to win a medal. Cavendish was left frustrated and the friends did not speak for months. Following the Olympics, Cavendish remained angry with British Cycling
for giving insufficient attention to the madison, though Chris Boardman
stated that Cavendish's professional commitments also interfered with his build up to the Olympics. In November, Cavendish revealed that he had no further plans to return to track cycling.
The rest of his season was successful, with a total of eleven further race wins, including three each at the 2008 Tour of Ireland
which he abandoned on the final day, and the 2008 Tour of Missouri
, winning his only points classification of the season at the latter. At the 2008 Tour de Romandie, Cavendish won the prologue
time-trial, beating compatriot Bradley Wiggins and emphasising his short-distance time-trial abilities.
, where he renewed his rivalry with Tom Boonen
. Boonen won the race and one stage, though Cavendish took two stages; he also won two stages at the 2009 Tour of California
, again beating Boonen in the sprint finishes.
The Tour of California also saw Cavendish win his first points of classification of the 2009 season.
Cavendish was a surprise inclusion in the British squad for the 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships
, where he competed in the scratch race and the madison, failing to pick-up medals in either.
He took up the European season at Tirreno–Adriatico, the Italian one-week stage race, where he won one stage.
He then entered his first classic race, 2009 Milan – San Remo, and, after a week of uncharacteristically humble pre-race statements, rode effectively over the climbs that his rivals had said made this race impossible for him to win – and then tracked down Heinrich Haussler
in the last 200 meters to narrowly win the sprint and the race, Cavendish's first victory in a race known as one of the five monuments of cycling.
Cavendish repeated his two-stage victory at the Three Days of De Panne
from 2008, also winning the points classification. At the start of the 2009 Giro d'Italia
Team Columbia-High Road won the Team Time Trial and he was given the Maglia Rosa
leaders jersey, becoming the first British rider to ever wear it. The first 2 road stages however were fruitless for Cavendish, who was beaten to the line by Alessandro Petacchi
in the first stage and was caught behind a crash and failed to make it back for the sprint the next day. Cavendish soon asserted his sprinting dominance on the race however, gaining 3 stage wins before abandoning following stage 13, citing a need to rest for beginning preparations for the Tour de France
. He continued his preparation by racing the 2009 Tour de Suisse
where he won stage 3 and stage 6.
During the season, Cavendish developed a remarkable partnership with his leadout man, Mark Renshaw
. Continuing his run of success, Cavendish won stage 2, stage 3, stage 10, stage 11, stage 19 and stage 21 of the 2009 Tour de France
. In winning the third stage he became the first Briton to hold the green jersey for two days in a row. Cavendish's win on stage 11 enabled him to reclaim the green jersey from rival Thor Hushovd
, and equalled Barry Hoban
's British record of eight stage wins. Winning stage 19, Cavendish set a new record for Tour de France stage wins by a British rider. In winning the last stage, he led home a remarkable 1–2 for his team, when his team mate and leadout man, Mark Renshaw, finished second on the Champs-Élysées
.
Following on from the Tour de France, Cavendish won the Sparkassen Giro Bochum
and took part in the 2009 Tour of Ireland
, winning stage two. On 7 September he recorded the 50th win of his road racing career in a sprint finish in the opening stage of the 2009 Tour of Missouri
. Before the race he confirmed he will remain with Team Columbia-HTC in 2010, ending speculation linking him with a move to newly created British team, Team Sky
. Cavendish retained the leader's jersey by sprinting to victory on stage two but finished 5th on stage 3, losing the overall lead to Thor Hushovd, and was forced to withdraw from the race before stage four due to a lung infection. Although selected for the British team for the Men's Road Race at the 2009 UCI Road World Championships
, his illness prevented him from taking part.
, coming in six minutes down in 89th place. Cavendish's pre-season goals were to win the green jersey in the Tour de France
and win the Road Race at the 2010 World Championships. Cavendish also said that he would race in the 2010 Tour of Flanders
but said he wouldn't win it, stating that the Tour of Flanders requires training, but he sees himself winning it in the future.
Following a poor start to the season, Cavendish found form at the 2010 Volta a Catalunya
, finishing seventh in the time-trial and winning stage 2. His team withdrew Cavendish from the 2010 Tour de Romandie
after he made an offensive gesture after winning the second stage. Missing the 2010 Giro d'Italia
, Cavendish instead chose to compete at the 2010 Tour of California
starting on 16 May, where he won stage 1, for only his third victory of the season. On 15 June Cavendish crashed heavily whilst sprinting in the closing metres of the stage 4 of the 2010 Tour de Suisse
, appearing to veer off line and bring down Heinrich Haussler
and several other riders, raising criticism from other teams regarding his riding style. Cavendish entered the 2010 Tour de France
. During stage 1, Cavendish crashed out of the final sprint, with just under 3 km (1.9 mi) remaining in the stage. Overhead camera footage showed Cavendish failing to negotiate a corner after entering too fast and turning too late. He then leaned his shoulder into a fellow rider as he travelled away from the apex. Cavendish returned to form by winning the stage 5, stage 6, stage 11, stage 18 and stage 20, bringing his career total to 15 stage wins. He ended up second in the points classification, 11 points behind Alessandro Petacchi
. Cavendish's next race was the 2010 Vuelta a España
, in which his team won the team time trial with Cavendish crossing the line first taking the leader's jersey. He could only place second or third on the subsequent sprint stages, but returned to form later in the race winning stage 12, stage 13, stage 18 and the points classification.
. He continued to race and came to his second victory of the season in the 2011 Grote Scheldeprijs
. His third win of the Grote Scheldeprijs
, following his previous triumphs in 2007 and 2008, brought him to the record tied with Piet Oellibrandt. At the 2011 Paris–Roubaix
he failed to finish. He came second in the second stage of the 2011 Giro d'Italia
in contentious circumstances (Cavendish gestured at winner Alessandro Petacchi
for appearing to move across his path in the final sprint), to take the pink jersey into stage 3. Cavendish got his first grand tour victory of the year by winning stage 10 of the Giro, shrugging off claims that he had illegally held on to his team car when climbing Mount Etna
on stage 9. He won his second Giro victory of 2011 on stage 12 before leaving the race. On 11 June it was announced that Mark Cavendish was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)
in the Queen's Birthday Honours
.
Cavendish won stage 5, stage 7, stage 11, stage 15 and stage 21 of the 2011 Tour de France
—bringing his total to 20 career Tour de France stage wins, and the first person ever to win the final stage three years in succession. Even though he was docked 20 points for finishing outside the time limit after stage 18 and again after stage 19. Cavendish went on to win the points classification; in doing so, he became the first British cyclist to ever win the maillot vert
. Over the following weeks Cavendish took part in the post-Tour Criteriums. He won the Stiphout Criterium in The Netherlands, beating Andy Schleck
and Frank Schleck
to the line, then he won the Profcriterium Wolvertem-Meise and following that he won the Wateringse Wielerdag. On 4 August Cavendish's team HTC-Highroad announced that they would fold at the end of the season, fuelling speculation of Cavendish moving to Team Sky
. On 14 August, Cavendish won the London–Surrey Cycle Classic
; racing for Team Great Britain, it was the official test event for the 2012 Summer Olympics
road race and part of the London Prepares series. Less than a week later, Cavendish started the 2011 Vuelta a España
, but abandoned during stage 4 due to the searing heat. After withdrawing from the Vuelta Cavendish was allowed to be a late addition for the line up of the 2011 Tour of Britain
. Cavendish won stage 1 in Dumfries
to take the leader's jersey at that point in the race, and the final stage in London.
At the end of September Cavendish went to the 2011 UCI Road World Championships
in Copenhagen
taking part in the road race
with an eight-strong British team. After the team controlled the whole race it came down to a sprint finish with Cavendish crossing the line in first place taking the Rainbow jersey
. He became the second British World Champion after Tom Simpson
in 1965
. After much speculation, it was announced Cavendish would join Team Sky
for the 2012 season. He will be joined by his HTC-Highroad teammate Austrian Bernhard Eisel
.
In November 2011 Cavendish made a cameo return to the track, competing in the Revolution event at the Manchester Velodrome
. He won the scratch race, his first win on the track of any kind since 2008. He announced that he was starting his training for the 2012 season earlier than in previous years, with the aim of being more competitive in the Classics.
the points that Cavendish gained in the intermediate sprint in stage 14 were removed after he was judged to have driven Thor Hushovd
too close to barriers on the course. After stage 19 he said that he was "embarrassed" for his comments about "deserving" green jersey wearer Hushovd. After stage four of the 2010 Tour of Switzerland, Cavendish was found to be at fault for a crash involving himself and Heinrich Haussler
during the end of stage sprint. The crash caused Haussler, Arnaud Coyot
and Lloyd Mondory
to quit the race because of their injuries, though Cavendish was able to continue. Cavendish received a thirty second penalty and a CHF
200 fine. The start of the next stage was disrupted by fellow riders protesting at Cavendish's riding and style, and what they claimed was a lack of respect from Cavendish.
In June 2009 his autobiography, Boy Racer, which covered his career to date, was published. At a press conference in London ahead of the 2009 Tour de France, Cavendish explained that the book was "more a biography of last year's Tour stage wins" than an autobiography. His "biggest motivation for writing it had been to explain himself better", to counter the way he came across during interviews immediately after races.
and has a training base in Quarrata
, Tuscany, Italy. Cavendish is currently in a relationship with glamour model and Page Three girl Peta Todd
. On 22 October 2011, the couple announced via the media that Todd is pregnant.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born on 21 May 1985) is a Manx
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
professional road racing cyclist
Road bicycle racing
Road bicycle racing is a bicycle racing sport held on roads, using racing bicycles. The term "road racing" is usually applied to events where competing riders start simultaneously with the winner being the first to the line at the end of the course .Historically, the most...
who rides for UCI ProTeam until the end of this season when the team is dissolved. He will join Team Sky
Team Sky
Team Sky is a British professional road bicycle racing team that competes in international road bicycle races. The creation of the team was announced on 26 February 2009 and the team began competition in January 2010....
at the start of the 2012 season. Originally a track cyclist specialising in the madison
Madison (cycling)
The madison is a team event in track cycling, named after the first Madison Square Garden in New York, and known as the "American race" in French and in Italian and Spanish as Americana.-History:...
, points race
Points race
A points race is a mass start track cycling event involving large numbers of riders simultaneously on track. It was an Olympic event for men between 1984–2008 and for women 1996-2008....
, and scratch race
Scratch Race (cycling)
A scratch race is a cycling race in which all contestants start from scratch . Finishing order is based on the final order across the line at the completion of the race; there are no intermediate points or sprints....
disciplines, he has competed on the road since 2006, rising to prominence as a sprinter
Cycling sprinter
A cycling sprinter is a road bicycle racer or track racer who can finish a race very explosively by accelerating quickly to a high speed, often using the slipstream of another cyclist or group of cyclists tactically to conserve energy.-The road sprinter:...
. He is the 2011 Road World Champion
2011 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race
The Men's Individual Road Race of the 2011 UCI Road World Championships cycling event took place on 25 September 2011 in Copenhagen, Denmark.In a sprint to the finish line, Great Britain's Mark Cavendish became world champion after making his move down the right-hand side of the course, and just...
champion.
On the track Cavendish won gold in the madison at the 2005
2005 UCI Track Cycling World Championships
The 2005 UCI Track Cycling World Championships were the World Championship for track cycling. They took place in Los Angeles, USA from March 24 to March 27, 2005.-Medals table:-Medal summary:-External links:**...
and 2008
2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships
The 2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships were the World Championship for track cycling. They took place at the Manchester Velodrome in Manchester, United Kingdom from 26 to 30 March 2008. Eighteen events were scheduled; the women's team pursuit being the only addition from the 2007...
World Championshps, with Rob Hayles
Rob Hayles
Robert John Hayles is a track and road racing cyclist, riding for Great Britain and England on the track and his professional team Endura Racing on the road. Hayles rides the team pursuit and madison events....
and Bradley Wiggins
Bradley Wiggins
Bradley Marc Wiggins, CBE is a British professional track and road bicycle racer, currently riding for Team Sky. Wiggins' career began on the track, where he specialised in the pursuit and madison disciplines....
respectively and in the scratch race at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia between 15 March and 26 March 2006. It was the largest sporting event to be staged in Melbourne, eclipsing the 1956 Summer Olympics in terms of the number of teams competing, athletes competing, and events being held.The site...
riding for Isle of Man.
As a road cyclist he achieved eleven wins in his first professional season, equalling the record held by Alessandro Petacchi
Alessandro Petacchi
Alessandro Petacchi is an Italian professional road racing cyclist for .A specialist sprinter, Petacchi has won 51 grand tour stages with wins of the points jersey in the Giro d'Italia in 2004, the Vuelta a España in 2005 and the Tour de France in 2010.In 2007 Alessandro was banned from cycling...
. Cavendish has won a total 20 Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
stages putting him joint 6th on the all-time list with Nicolas Frantz
Nicolas Frantz
Nicolas Frantz , born in Mamer, Luxembourg, was a bicycle racer with 60 professional racing victories over his 12-year career . He rode for the Thomann team in 1923 and then for Alcyon-Dunlop from 1924 to 1931. He won the Tour de France in 1927 and 1928.Nicolas Frantz was the son of a prosperous...
and joint 11th with Costante Girardengo
Costante Girardengo
Costante Girardengo was an Italian professional road bicycle racer, considered by many to be one of the finest riders in the history of the sport. He was the first rider to be declared a "Campionissimo" or "champion of champions" by the Italian media and fans...
on the all-time list of Grand Tour
Grand Tour (cycling)
In road bicycle racing, a Grand Tour refers to one of the three major European professional cycling stage races:* Tour de France – Tour of France , held in July* Giro d'Italia – Tour of Italy , held in May...
stage winners with 30 victories. Other notable wins include the 2009 Milan – San Remo classic and the points classification in both the 2010 Vuelta a España
2010 Vuelta a España
The 2010 Vuelta a España was held from August 28 to September 19 and was won by Vincenzo Nibali. The race began in Seville and ended, as is tradition, in Madrid.The race covered...
and the 2011 Tour de France
2011 Tour de France
-Pre-race favourites:2010 winner Alberto Contador was suspended from cycling during a doping investigation from September 2010 to February 2011, during which time 2010 runner-up Andy Schleck was regarded as the favourite. When the suspension was lifted, Contador declared his desire to compete in...
.
Early life
Cavendish was born in DouglasDouglas, Isle of Man
right|thumb|250px|Douglas Promenade, which runs nearly the entire length of beachfront in Douglasright|thumb|250px|Sea terminal in DouglasDouglas is the capital and largest town of the Isle of Man, with a population of 26,218 people . It is located at the mouth of the River Douglas, and a sweeping...
, Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
, the son of David Cavendish also from the Isle of Man, and Adele from Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
. He began riding BMX
BMX
Bicycle motocross or BMX refers to the sport in which the main goal is extreme racing on bicycles in motocross style on tracks with inline start and expressive obstacles, and it is also the term that refers to the bicycle itself that is designed for dirt and motocross cycling.- History :BMX started...
at a young age, racing at the National Sports Centre
National Sports Centre (Isle of Man)
The National Sports Centre in Douglas Isle of Man is a large multi-sports centre and athletics stadium. The NSC is owned by the Department of Tourism and Leisure of the Isle of Man Government and operated by the Manx Sport & Recreation....
in Douglas. He said: "I was always riding a bike, getting dropped in little races." Cavendish started racing informally at 12, as a mountain-bike rider. My mum would laugh at me, and I said it was because all my mates had mountain bikes, so I asked for a mountain bike for my 13th birthday and got one. The very next day I went out and beat everyone." It was at that time that Cavendish met David Millar
David Millar
David Millar is a British road racing cyclist riding for . He has won three stages of the Tour de France, two of the Vuelta a España and one Stage of the Giro d'Italia. He was the British national road champion and the national time trial champion, both in 2007...
at a race on the Isle of Man. Cavendish said he was inspired by Millar. Cavendish worked in a bank for two years after leaving school. He concentrated on earning enough money to support himself as a full time cyclist later on, as he attempted to turn professional.
Early years
Mark Cavendish began his career with the British Track Cycling teamBritish Cycling
British Cycling is the national governing body for cycle racing in Great Britain. It administers most competitive cycling in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man...
. He won gold in the madison
Madison (cycling)
The madison is a team event in track cycling, named after the first Madison Square Garden in New York, and known as the "American race" in French and in Italian and Spanish as Americana.-History:...
with Rob Hayles
Rob Hayles
Robert John Hayles is a track and road racing cyclist, riding for Great Britain and England on the track and his professional team Endura Racing on the road. Hayles rides the team pursuit and madison events....
at the 2005 UCI Track Cycling World Championships
2005 UCI Track Cycling World Championships
The 2005 UCI Track Cycling World Championships were the World Championship for track cycling. They took place in Los Angeles, USA from March 24 to March 27, 2005.-Medals table:-Medal summary:-External links:**...
in Los Angeles. They had not raced together before. They finished one lap ahead of the field to claim the gold medal, ahead of the Dutch and Belgian teams, giving Britain its fourth gold at the championships. It was Cavendish's first world champion's jersey. Cavendish also won the 2005 European championship
European Track Championships
The European Track Cycling Championships are the set of European championship events for the various disciplines and distances in track cycling and are regulated by the European Cycling Union...
points race. He began road racing in 2005, riding the Tour of Berlin and 2005 Tour of Britain as a trialist with Team Sparkasse.
Cavendish began 2006 with the Continental team, Team Sparkasse, a feeder squad for T-Mobile Team
T-Mobile Team
HTC-Highroad is a professional cycling team competing in international road bicycle races. Their current title sponsor is HTC Corporation, a Taiwanese manufacturer of smartphones. High Road Sports is the management company of team manager Bob Stapleton. Past title sponsors include Columbia...
. In June, he won two stages and the points and sprint competitions in the Tour of Berlin. He rode for the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
on the track at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia between 15 March and 26 March 2006. It was the largest sporting event to be staged in Melbourne, eclipsing the 1956 Summer Olympics in terms of the number of teams competing, athletes competing, and events being held.The site...
in Melbourne, riding the scratch race. He lapped the field with three others: Rob Hayles
Rob Hayles
Robert John Hayles is a track and road racing cyclist, riding for Great Britain and England on the track and his professional team Endura Racing on the road. Hayles rides the team pursuit and madison events....
; Ashley Hutchinson of Australia; and James McCallum
James McCallum (cyclist)
James McCallum is a Scottish racing cyclist who rides for . He represented Scotland in the Team Pursuit, Points & Scratch Races at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, and again in 2006 in Melbourne in the Scratch, Points & Road Races, winning a bronze medal in the Scratch race.Until 2007,...
of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. He then beat these in the sprint to win gold for the Isle of Man. The race time was 23m 5s, an average 51.9 km/h.
His success at the Tour of Berlin led to a post as a stagiaire with T-Mobile
T-Mobile Team
HTC-Highroad is a professional cycling team competing in international road bicycle races. Their current title sponsor is HTC Corporation, a Taiwanese manufacturer of smartphones. High Road Sports is the management company of team manager Bob Stapleton. Past title sponsors include Columbia...
from August until the end of the season. His best result for T-Mobile in 2006 was in the Tour of Britain
Tour of Britain
The Tour of Britain is a cycle race, conducted over several stages, in which participants race from place to place across parts of Great Britain....
where he came second three times and won the points classification. It brought a full professional contract for 2007 and 2008.
2007
Cavendish's breakthrough came at the 2007 Grote Scheldeprijs2007 Grote Scheldeprijs
The 2007 Grote Scheldeprijs cycling race took place on April 18, 2007. It was the 95th running of the Grote Scheldeprijs. Mark Cavendish beat Robbie McEwen and Gert Steegmans in a bunch sprint to take his first professional win.-Results:...
race in Belgium, which he won overall. He went on to win stages at the Four Days of Dunkirk
Four Days of Dunkirk
The Four Days of Dunkirk is road bicycle race around the Nord-Pas de Calais region of northern France. Confusingly, since the addition of an individual time trial in 1963, the race has usually been held over a 5 or 6 day period. Since 2005, the race is organised as a 2.HC event on the UCI Europe...
and the 2007 Volta a Catalunya
2007 Volta a Catalunya
The 2007 Volta a Catalunya road cycling race took place from May 21 to May 27, 2007, in Catalonia. It began in Salou with a team time trial and ends in Barcelona. The race was won by Russian Vladimir Karpets of the team, who won the race thanks to winning the team time trial, and second placings...
and that brought selection for the 2007 Tour de France
2007 Tour de France
The 2007 Tour de France, the 94th running of the race, took place from 7 July to 29 July 2007. The Tour began with a prologue in London, and ended with the traditional finish in Paris. Along the way, the route also passed through Belgium and Spain...
. He crashed in stages 1 and 2. and abandoned on stage 8 as the race reached the Alps, having taken two top-ten placings but unhappy not to have had a top-five placing. His debut season continued moving on to 10 stage wins, one behind Alessandro Petacchi
Alessandro Petacchi
Alessandro Petacchi is an Italian professional road racing cyclist for .A specialist sprinter, Petacchi has won 51 grand tour stages with wins of the points jersey in the Giro d'Italia in 2004, the Vuelta a España in 2005 and the Tour de France in 2010.In 2007 Alessandro was banned from cycling...
's record 11 for a début season. Cavendish took his 11th win in early October—the Circuit Franco-Belge—to equal Petacchi's record. Among the wins were three in UCI ProTour
UCI ProTour
The UCI ProTour was a series of road bicycle races in Europe, Australia and Canada organised by the UCI . Created by Hein Verbruggen, former president of the UCI, it comprises a number of 'ProTour' cycling teams, each of whom are required to compete in every round of the series...
events, the two in the Volta a Catalunya and one in the 2007 Eneco Tour.
2008
In 2008, Cavendish returned to the track, winning the MadisonMadison (cycling)
The madison is a team event in track cycling, named after the first Madison Square Garden in New York, and known as the "American race" in French and in Italian and Spanish as Americana.-History:...
2008 Track World Championships
2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships
The 2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships were the World Championship for track cycling. They took place at the Manchester Velodrome in Manchester, United Kingdom from 26 to 30 March 2008. Eighteen events were scheduled; the women's team pursuit being the only addition from the 2007...
in Manchester with Bradley Wiggins
Bradley Wiggins
Bradley Marc Wiggins, CBE is a British professional track and road bicycle racer, currently riding for Team Sky. Wiggins' career began on the track, where he specialised in the pursuit and madison disciplines....
, as Great Britain topped the medal table.
On the road, Cavendish won his first stages of a grand tour
Grand Tour (cycling)
In road bicycle racing, a Grand Tour refers to one of the three major European professional cycling stage races:* Tour de France – Tour of France , held in July* Giro d'Italia – Tour of Italy , held in May...
, by picking two victories in the 2008 Giro d'Italia
2008 Giro d'Italia
The 2008 Giro d'Italia was the 91st running of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It began in Palermo on 10 May and ended in Milan on 1 June. Twenty-two teams entered the race, which was won by Spaniard Alberto Contador of the cycling team...
. Cavendish won four further stages in the 2008 Tour de France
2008 Tour de France
The 2008 Tour de France was the 95th Tour de France. The event took place from 5–27 July 2008. Starting in the French city of Brest, the tour entered Italy on the 15th stage and returned to France during the 16th, heading for Paris, its regular final destination, which was reached in the 21st stage...
, his first coming in stage 5 from Cholet
Cholet
Cholet is a commune of western France in the Maine-et-Loire department. It was the capital of military Vendée.-Geography:Cholet stands on an eminence on the right bank of the Moine, which used to be crossed by a bridge from the fifteenth century...
to Châteauroux
Châteauroux
Châteauroux is the capital of the Indre department in central France and the second-largest town in the province of Berry, after Bourges. Its residents are called Castelroussines or Castelroussins....
. He won again on stage 8, stage 12 and stage 13, making him the first British rider to collect four stages in a single Tour. Overnight, at the age of just 22, he became the fourth most successful British professional in history. After stage 14, Cavendish abandoned the Tour to concentrate on the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
in Beijing. He and Team Columbia manager Bob Stapleton agreed that riding the Alps was a risk to his hopes. But Cavendish, with Bradley Wiggins
Bradley Wiggins
Bradley Marc Wiggins, CBE is a British professional track and road bicycle racer, currently riding for Team Sky. Wiggins' career began on the track, where he specialised in the pursuit and madison disciplines....
, failed to win a medal, finishing joint eighth in the madison. He was the only British track cyclist not to win a medal. Cavendish was left frustrated and the friends did not speak for months. Following the Olympics, Cavendish remained angry with British Cycling
British Cycling
British Cycling is the national governing body for cycle racing in Great Britain. It administers most competitive cycling in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man...
for giving insufficient attention to the madison, though Chris Boardman
Chris Boardman
Christopher "Chris" Boardman MBE is a former English racing cyclist who won an individual pursuit gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics and broke the world hour record three times, as well as winning three stages and wearing the yellow jersey on three separate occasions at the Tour de France...
stated that Cavendish's professional commitments also interfered with his build up to the Olympics. In November, Cavendish revealed that he had no further plans to return to track cycling.
The rest of his season was successful, with a total of eleven further race wins, including three each at the 2008 Tour of Ireland
2008 Tour of Ireland
The 2008 Tour of Ireland took place between Wednesday 27 August 2008 to Sunday 31 August 2008.-Stages:-General Classification:-Teams Classification:- Jersey Progress :...
which he abandoned on the final day, and the 2008 Tour of Missouri
2008 Tour of Missouri
The 2008 Tour of Missouri is the second annual edition of a professional road bicycle racing stage race held in Missouri. It began on September 8, 2008 with seven days of racing. Run by same organizers as the Tour de Georgia and the Amgen Tour of California, the Tour of Missouri is being billed as...
, winning his only points classification of the season at the latter. At the 2008 Tour de Romandie, Cavendish won the prologue
Prologue
A prologue is an opening to a story that establishes the setting and gives background details, often some earlier story that ties into the main one, and other miscellaneous information. The Greek prologos included the modern meaning of prologue, but was of wider significance...
time-trial, beating compatriot Bradley Wiggins and emphasising his short-distance time-trial abilities.
2009
Cavendish's 2009 season began at the 2009 Tour of Qatar2009 Tour of Qatar
The 2009 Tour of Qatar was held from 1 February to 6 February 2009 in Qatar. It was a multiple stage road cycling race that took part over six stages with a total of and was part of the 2008-2009 UCI Asia Tour...
, where he renewed his rivalry with Tom Boonen
Tom Boonen
Tom Boonen is a Belgian professional road bicycle racer who won the 2005 World Road Race Championship. He is a member of the team, and is considered a single-day road race specialist with a strong finishing sprint...
. Boonen won the race and one stage, though Cavendish took two stages; he also won two stages at the 2009 Tour of California
2009 Tour of California
The 2009 Amgen Tour of California was the 4th running of an annual cycling race contained within the state of California. The event was staged February 14–22 and began with a prologue in the state capital of Sacramento. The event was held as part of the schedule of both the UCI America Tour and USA...
, again beating Boonen in the sprint finishes.
The Tour of California also saw Cavendish win his first points of classification of the 2009 season.
Cavendish was a surprise inclusion in the British squad for the 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships
2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships
The 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships are the World Championship for track cycling. They took place at the BGŻ Arena in Pruszków, Poland from 25 to 29 March 2009...
, where he competed in the scratch race and the madison, failing to pick-up medals in either.
He took up the European season at Tirreno–Adriatico, the Italian one-week stage race, where he won one stage.
He then entered his first classic race, 2009 Milan – San Remo, and, after a week of uncharacteristically humble pre-race statements, rode effectively over the climbs that his rivals had said made this race impossible for him to win – and then tracked down Heinrich Haussler
Heinrich Haussler
Heinrich Haussler is an Australian road racing cyclist with German heritage. Haussler races for UCI ProTeam .-Early life:...
in the last 200 meters to narrowly win the sprint and the race, Cavendish's first victory in a race known as one of the five monuments of cycling.
Cavendish repeated his two-stage victory at the Three Days of De Panne
Three Days of De Panne
The Three Days of De Panne is a mid-week, three-day stage race before the Ronde van Vlaanderen in De Panne in West Flanders, Belgium. It is rated 2.HC by the UCI and is part of the UCI Europe Tour.- Winners :...
from 2008, also winning the points classification. At the start of the 2009 Giro d'Italia
2009 Giro d'Italia
The 2009 Giro d'Italia was the 92nd running of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It was held from 9 to 31 May 2009, and marked the 100th year since the first edition of the race...
Team Columbia-High Road won the Team Time Trial and he was given the Maglia Rosa
Maglia rosa
The pink jersey is awarded to the leader of the General Classification at the Giro d'Italia. The leader of the GC is the rider who has the fastest time when all the stage results are added together, taking into account time bonuses for high finishes and intermediate sprints...
leaders jersey, becoming the first British rider to ever wear it. The first 2 road stages however were fruitless for Cavendish, who was beaten to the line by Alessandro Petacchi
Alessandro Petacchi
Alessandro Petacchi is an Italian professional road racing cyclist for .A specialist sprinter, Petacchi has won 51 grand tour stages with wins of the points jersey in the Giro d'Italia in 2004, the Vuelta a España in 2005 and the Tour de France in 2010.In 2007 Alessandro was banned from cycling...
in the first stage and was caught behind a crash and failed to make it back for the sprint the next day. Cavendish soon asserted his sprinting dominance on the race however, gaining 3 stage wins before abandoning following stage 13, citing a need to rest for beginning preparations for the Tour de France
2009 Tour de France
The 2009 Tour de France was the 96th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started on 4 July in the principality of Monaco with a individual time trial which included a section of the Circuit de Monaco...
. He continued his preparation by racing the 2009 Tour de Suisse
2009 Tour de Suisse
The 2009 Tour de Suisse was the 73rd edition of the Tour de Suisse stage race. It took place from 13 June to 21 June and is part of both the 2009 UCI ProTour and the inaugural World Calendar. It began with a short individual time trial in Liechtenstein and ended with another time trial, in Bern...
where he won stage 3 and stage 6.
During the season, Cavendish developed a remarkable partnership with his leadout man, Mark Renshaw
Mark Renshaw
Mark Renshaw is an Australian racing cyclist with UCI ProTeam , who is considered one of the best lead-out men in the world.- Early career :...
. Continuing his run of success, Cavendish won stage 2, stage 3, stage 10, stage 11, stage 19 and stage 21 of the 2009 Tour de France
2009 Tour de France
The 2009 Tour de France was the 96th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started on 4 July in the principality of Monaco with a individual time trial which included a section of the Circuit de Monaco...
. In winning the third stage he became the first Briton to hold the green jersey for two days in a row. Cavendish's win on stage 11 enabled him to reclaim the green jersey from rival Thor Hushovd
Thor Hushovd
Thor Hushovd is a Norwegian professional road bicycle racer riding . He has signed for from 2012 onwards. He is known for sprinting and time trialing and is the 2010 Norwegian and world road champion. He is the first Norwegian to lead the Tour de France, and first Scandinavian to win the road...
, and equalled Barry Hoban
Barry Hoban
Barry Hoban is a former English professional cyclist who rode during the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was the previous holder of the record for the most stage wins in the Tour de France by a British rider, winning eight between 1967 to 1975...
's British record of eight stage wins. Winning stage 19, Cavendish set a new record for Tour de France stage wins by a British rider. In winning the last stage, he led home a remarkable 1–2 for his team, when his team mate and leadout man, Mark Renshaw, finished second on the Champs-Élysées
Champs-Élysées
The Avenue des Champs-Élysées is a prestigious avenue in Paris, France. With its cinemas, cafés, luxury specialty shops and clipped horse-chestnut trees, the Avenue des Champs-Élysées is one of the most famous streets and one of the most expensive strip of real estate in the world. The name is...
.
Following on from the Tour de France, Cavendish won the Sparkassen Giro Bochum
Sparkassen Giro Bochum
The Sparkassen Giro Bochum is a road bicycle race which is annually held around an urban circuit in the German city of Bochum, Germany. Since 2005 it is part of the UCI Europe Tour, being organised as 1.1 race.- Winners :...
and took part in the 2009 Tour of Ireland
2009 Tour of Ireland
The 2009 Tour of Ireland was the 35th running of the Tour of Ireland stage race. The event was held from 21–23 August. It consisted of three stages, and was rated as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour.-Participating teams:...
, winning stage two. On 7 September he recorded the 50th win of his road racing career in a sprint finish in the opening stage of the 2009 Tour of Missouri
2009 Tour of Missouri
The 2009 Tour of Missouri was the third annual edition of a professional road bicycle racing stage race held in Missouri. It began on September 7, 2009 with seven days of racing. The Tour of Missouri is considered the second highest profile domestic race in the United States this year, bettered...
. Before the race he confirmed he will remain with Team Columbia-HTC in 2010, ending speculation linking him with a move to newly created British team, Team Sky
Team Sky
Team Sky is a British professional road bicycle racing team that competes in international road bicycle races. The creation of the team was announced on 26 February 2009 and the team began competition in January 2010....
. Cavendish retained the leader's jersey by sprinting to victory on stage two but finished 5th on stage 3, losing the overall lead to Thor Hushovd, and was forced to withdraw from the race before stage four due to a lung infection. Although selected for the British team for the Men's Road Race at the 2009 UCI Road World Championships
2009 UCI Road World Championships
The 2009 UCI Road World Championships were held in Mendrisio, Switzerland, between September 23 and September 27, 2009. The event consisted of a road race and a time trial for men, women and men under 23.-Medals table:-Individual time trials:...
, his illness prevented him from taking part.
2010
Following a dental problem, Cavendish delayed the start of his 2010 season until the 2010 Ruta del Sol, in mid-February. Following the lay off his form was poor, and he failed to defend his victory at the 2010 Milan – San Remo2010 Milan – San Remo
The 2010 Milan – San Remo was the 101st running of the Milan – San Remo cycling race, held on March 20. The race was won by Oscar Freire of Spain in a bunch sprint finish.- Teams :...
, coming in six minutes down in 89th place. Cavendish's pre-season goals were to win the green jersey in the Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
and win the Road Race at the 2010 World Championships. Cavendish also said that he would race in the 2010 Tour of Flanders
2010 Tour of Flanders
The 2010 Tour of Flanders cycle race was the 94th edition of this monument classic and took place on 4 April. The course was 262.3 km long, starting in Brugge and finishing in Ninove. The race was won by Fabian Cancellara ahead of Tom Boonen and Philippe Gilbert.-Course:The 16 Tour of Flanders...
but said he wouldn't win it, stating that the Tour of Flanders requires training, but he sees himself winning it in the future.
Following a poor start to the season, Cavendish found form at the 2010 Volta a Catalunya
2010 Volta a Catalunya
The 2010 Volta a Catalunya was the 90th running of the race.It was the second race of the UCI ProTour calendar of 2010, and took place from March 22 to March 28.-Participating teams:...
, finishing seventh in the time-trial and winning stage 2. His team withdrew Cavendish from the 2010 Tour de Romandie
2010 Tour de Romandie
The 2010 Tour de Romandie cycling road race started on 27 April and finished on 2 May in Switzerland. It was the 6th event in the 2010 UCI ProTour, and the 13th event in the World Calendar. The race winner had been declared as Alejandro Valverde, who won the final stage to take the race by 11...
after he made an offensive gesture after winning the second stage. Missing the 2010 Giro d'Italia
2010 Giro d'Italia
The 2010 Giro d'Italia was the 93rd edition of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The Giro started off in Amsterdam on 8 May and stayed in the Netherlands for three stages, before leaving the country...
, Cavendish instead chose to compete at the 2010 Tour of California
2010 Tour of California
The 2010 Tour of California was the fifth running of the Tour of California cycling stage race. It was held from May 16–23, and was the first edition of the race held in the month of May, after the first four occurred in February. It was rated as a 2.HC event on the UCI America Tour...
starting on 16 May, where he won stage 1, for only his third victory of the season. On 15 June Cavendish crashed heavily whilst sprinting in the closing metres of the stage 4 of the 2010 Tour de Suisse
2010 Tour de Suisse
The 2010 Tour de Suisse was the 74th edition of the Tour de Suisse stage race. It took place from 12 June to 20 June and was part of both the 2010 UCI ProTour and the World Calendar. It began with a short individual time trial in Lugano and ended with another time trial, in Liestal...
, appearing to veer off line and bring down Heinrich Haussler
Heinrich Haussler
Heinrich Haussler is an Australian road racing cyclist with German heritage. Haussler races for UCI ProTeam .-Early life:...
and several other riders, raising criticism from other teams regarding his riding style. Cavendish entered the 2010 Tour de France
2010 Tour de France
The 2010 Tour de France was the 97th edition of the Tour de France cycle race, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started on with an 8.9 km prologue time trial in Rotterdam, the first start in the Netherlands since 1996...
. During stage 1, Cavendish crashed out of the final sprint, with just under 3 km (1.9 mi) remaining in the stage. Overhead camera footage showed Cavendish failing to negotiate a corner after entering too fast and turning too late. He then leaned his shoulder into a fellow rider as he travelled away from the apex. Cavendish returned to form by winning the stage 5, stage 6, stage 11, stage 18 and stage 20, bringing his career total to 15 stage wins. He ended up second in the points classification, 11 points behind Alessandro Petacchi
Alessandro Petacchi
Alessandro Petacchi is an Italian professional road racing cyclist for .A specialist sprinter, Petacchi has won 51 grand tour stages with wins of the points jersey in the Giro d'Italia in 2004, the Vuelta a España in 2005 and the Tour de France in 2010.In 2007 Alessandro was banned from cycling...
. Cavendish's next race was the 2010 Vuelta a España
2010 Vuelta a España
The 2010 Vuelta a España was held from August 28 to September 19 and was won by Vincenzo Nibali. The race began in Seville and ended, as is tradition, in Madrid.The race covered...
, in which his team won the team time trial with Cavendish crossing the line first taking the leader's jersey. He could only place second or third on the subsequent sprint stages, but returned to form later in the race winning stage 12, stage 13, stage 18 and the points classification.
2011
Cavendish had a slow start to 2011 failing to win a race until late February when he won the stage 6 of the 2011 Tour of Oman2011 Tour of Oman
The 2011 Tour of Oman is the second edition of the Tour of Oman cycling stage race. It is rated as a 2.1 event on the UCI Asia Tour, and held from 15 February to 20 February 2011, in Oman.-Teams:Sixteen teams will compete in the 2011 Tour of Oman...
. He continued to race and came to his second victory of the season in the 2011 Grote Scheldeprijs
2011 Grote Scheldeprijs
The 2011 Grote Scheldeprijs cycling race took place on 9 April 2011. It was the 99th time the Scheldeprijs was run. Mark Cavendish won the race for a third time equally the record of Piet Oellibrandt. He won the 99th Scheldeprijs ahead of Denis Galimzyanov for Team Katusha and Yauheni Hutarovich...
. His third win of the Grote Scheldeprijs
Grote Scheldeprijs
The Scheldeprijs is a Flanders Classics cycling race which starts in Antwerp and finishes in Schoten. The event, ranked at 1.HC on the UCI European calendar, is seen as a race for sprinters, held on flat roads over roughly 200 kilometres. The race is one circuit of 155 kilometres into the...
, following his previous triumphs in 2007 and 2008, brought him to the record tied with Piet Oellibrandt. At the 2011 Paris–Roubaix
2011 Paris–Roubaix
The 2011 Paris–Roubaix was the 109th running of the Paris–Roubaix single-day cycling race, often known as the Hell of the North. It was held on 10 April 2011 over a distance of and was the ninth race of the 2011 UCI World Tour season....
he failed to finish. He came second in the second stage of the 2011 Giro d'Italia
2011 Giro d'Italia
The 2011 Giro d'Italia was the 94th edition of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The Giro started on 7 May with a team time trial in Turin to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Italian unification, when the city served as the first capital of the single state.The route was...
in contentious circumstances (Cavendish gestured at winner Alessandro Petacchi
Alessandro Petacchi
Alessandro Petacchi is an Italian professional road racing cyclist for .A specialist sprinter, Petacchi has won 51 grand tour stages with wins of the points jersey in the Giro d'Italia in 2004, the Vuelta a España in 2005 and the Tour de France in 2010.In 2007 Alessandro was banned from cycling...
for appearing to move across his path in the final sprint), to take the pink jersey into stage 3. Cavendish got his first grand tour victory of the year by winning stage 10 of the Giro, shrugging off claims that he had illegally held on to his team car when climbing Mount Etna
Mount Etna
Mount Etna is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, close to Messina and Catania. It is the tallest active volcano in Europe, currently standing high, though this varies with summit eruptions; the mountain is 21 m higher than it was in 1981.. It is the highest mountain in...
on stage 9. He won his second Giro victory of 2011 on stage 12 before leaving the race. On 11 June it was announced that Mark Cavendish was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in the Queen's Birthday Honours
Queen's Birthday Honours
The Queen's Birthday Honours is a part of the British honours system, being a civic occasion on the celebration of the Queen's Official Birthday in which new members of most Commonwealth Realms honours are named. The awards are presented by the reigning monarch or head of state, currently Queen...
.
Cavendish won stage 5, stage 7, stage 11, stage 15 and stage 21 of the 2011 Tour de France
2011 Tour de France
-Pre-race favourites:2010 winner Alberto Contador was suspended from cycling during a doping investigation from September 2010 to February 2011, during which time 2010 runner-up Andy Schleck was regarded as the favourite. When the suspension was lifted, Contador declared his desire to compete in...
—bringing his total to 20 career Tour de France stage wins, and the first person ever to win the final stage three years in succession. Even though he was docked 20 points for finishing outside the time limit after stage 18 and again after stage 19. Cavendish went on to win the points classification; in doing so, he became the first British cyclist to ever win the maillot vert
Points classification in the Tour de France
The points classification in the Tour de France is a secondary competition in the Tour de France, that started in 1953. Points are given for high finishes in a stage and for winning intermediate sprints, and these are recorded in a points classification. It is considered a sprinters' competition...
. Over the following weeks Cavendish took part in the post-Tour Criteriums. He won the Stiphout Criterium in The Netherlands, beating Andy Schleck
Andy Schleck
Andy Raymond Schleck is a Luxembourgish professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team . He is the younger brother of Fränk Schleck, who also rides for . Their father Johny Schleck rode the Tour de France and Vuelta a España between 1965 and 1974...
and Frank Schleck
Fränk Schleck
Fränk René Schleck is a Luxembourgish professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam . At the start of 2005, Schleck was joined by his younger brother Andy on , and they split the 2005 national championships between them, with Fränk winning the road race and Andy winning the time trial...
to the line, then he won the Profcriterium Wolvertem-Meise and following that he won the Wateringse Wielerdag. On 4 August Cavendish's team HTC-Highroad announced that they would fold at the end of the season, fuelling speculation of Cavendish moving to Team Sky
Team Sky
Team Sky is a British professional road bicycle racing team that competes in international road bicycle races. The creation of the team was announced on 26 February 2009 and the team began competition in January 2010....
. On 14 August, Cavendish won the London–Surrey Cycle Classic
London–Surrey Cycle Classic
The London–Surrey Cycle Classic was a one-off, one-day bicycle race that acted as the test event for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. The race was part of the London Prepares series of events. The race was run over the Olympic course, starting in the Mall and heading into Surrey, where the riders...
; racing for Team Great Britain, it was the official test event for the 2012 Summer Olympics
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...
road race and part of the London Prepares series. Less than a week later, Cavendish started the 2011 Vuelta a España
2011 Vuelta a España
The 2011 Vuelta a España was held from 20 August to 11 September. The race began in Benidorm with a team time trial and ended, as is traditional, in Madrid. The 2011 Vuelta was the 66th edition of the race and was the first Vuelta in 33 years that visited the Basque Country...
, but abandoned during stage 4 due to the searing heat. After withdrawing from the Vuelta Cavendish was allowed to be a late addition for the line up of the 2011 Tour of Britain
2011 Tour of Britain
The 2011 Tour of Britain was the eighth running of the latest incarnation of the Tour of Britain and the 72nd British tour in total. The race started on 11 September in Peebles, Scotland and finished on 18 September in London, England, with the race also visiting Wales for one stage.The race...
. Cavendish won stage 1 in Dumfries
Dumfries
Dumfries is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth. Dumfries was the county town of the former county of Dumfriesshire. Dumfries is nicknamed Queen of the South...
to take the leader's jersey at that point in the race, and the final stage in London.
At the end of September Cavendish went to the 2011 UCI Road World Championships
2011 UCI Road World Championships
The 2011 UCI Road World Championships took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, over 19–25 September 2011. The event consisted of a road race and a time trial for men, women, men under 23, and for the first time since 2004 the junior men and junior women competed at the same event as the elite riders. It...
in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
taking part in the road race
2011 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race
The Men's Individual Road Race of the 2011 UCI Road World Championships cycling event took place on 25 September 2011 in Copenhagen, Denmark.In a sprint to the finish line, Great Britain's Mark Cavendish became world champion after making his move down the right-hand side of the course, and just...
with an eight-strong British team. After the team controlled the whole race it came down to a sprint finish with Cavendish crossing the line in first place taking the Rainbow jersey
Rainbow jersey
The Rainbow jersey is the distinctive jersey worn by the reigning world champion in a bicycle racing discipline. The jersey is predominantly white with five horizontal bands in the UCI colours around the chest. From the bottom up the colours are: green, yellow, black, red and blue; the same colours...
. He became the second British World Champion after Tom Simpson
Tom Simpson
Tom Simpson was the most successful English road racing cyclist of the post-war years. He infamously died of exhaustion on the slopes of Mont Ventoux during the 13th stage of the Tour de France in 1967...
in 1965
1965 UCI Road World Championships
The 1965 UCI Road World Championships took place on 5 September 1965 in Lasarte-Oria in Spain.- Results :- Medal table :- External links :* *...
. After much speculation, it was announced Cavendish would join Team Sky
Team Sky
Team Sky is a British professional road bicycle racing team that competes in international road bicycle races. The creation of the team was announced on 26 February 2009 and the team began competition in January 2010....
for the 2012 season. He will be joined by his HTC-Highroad teammate Austrian Bernhard Eisel
Bernhard Eisel
Bernhard Eisel is an Austrian professional road bicycling racer who currently rides for . He will join Team Sky for the 2012 season.-Career:...
.
In November 2011 Cavendish made a cameo return to the track, competing in the Revolution event at the Manchester Velodrome
Manchester Velodrome
Manchester Velodrome is an indoor cycle-racing track or velodrome in Manchester, northwest England. It opened in September 1994 and is the leading indoor Olympic-standard track in the United Kingdom. It houses the National Cycling Centre and British Cycling...
. He won the scratch race, his first win on the track of any kind since 2008. He announced that he was starting his training for the 2012 season earlier than in previous years, with the aim of being more competitive in the Classics.
Riding style
He has been compared to an athletics sprinter pushing on the starting blocks. At the 2009 Tour de France2009 Tour de France
The 2009 Tour de France was the 96th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started on 4 July in the principality of Monaco with a individual time trial which included a section of the Circuit de Monaco...
the points that Cavendish gained in the intermediate sprint in stage 14 were removed after he was judged to have driven Thor Hushovd
Thor Hushovd
Thor Hushovd is a Norwegian professional road bicycle racer riding . He has signed for from 2012 onwards. He is known for sprinting and time trialing and is the 2010 Norwegian and world road champion. He is the first Norwegian to lead the Tour de France, and first Scandinavian to win the road...
too close to barriers on the course. After stage 19 he said that he was "embarrassed" for his comments about "deserving" green jersey wearer Hushovd. After stage four of the 2010 Tour of Switzerland, Cavendish was found to be at fault for a crash involving himself and Heinrich Haussler
Heinrich Haussler
Heinrich Haussler is an Australian road racing cyclist with German heritage. Haussler races for UCI ProTeam .-Early life:...
during the end of stage sprint. The crash caused Haussler, Arnaud Coyot
Arnaud Coyot
Arnaud Coyot is a French road bicycle racer on the team, who has been a professional since 2003. He has 2 race victories, and finished in tenth place in the 2005 Paris–Roubaix race, and tenth place in the 14th stage of the 2006 Tour de France.- Palmares :* Classic Haribo * GP EOS Tallinn...
and Lloyd Mondory
Lloyd Mondory
Lloyd Mondory is a French professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team .- Major results :2005...
to quit the race because of their injuries, though Cavendish was able to continue. Cavendish received a thirty second penalty and a CHF
Swiss franc
The franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein; it is also legal tender in the Italian exclave Campione d'Italia. Although not formally legal tender in the German exclave Büsingen , it is in wide daily use there...
200 fine. The start of the next stage was disrupted by fellow riders protesting at Cavendish's riding and style, and what they claimed was a lack of respect from Cavendish.
Personality
Cavendish has been described as confident, even arrogant. In 2008 he said:In June 2009 his autobiography, Boy Racer, which covered his career to date, was published. At a press conference in London ahead of the 2009 Tour de France, Cavendish explained that the book was "more a biography of last year's Tour stage wins" than an autobiography. His "biggest motivation for writing it had been to explain himself better", to counter the way he came across during interviews immediately after races.
Personal life
He lives on the Isle of ManIsle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
and has a training base in Quarrata
Quarrata
Quarrata is a comune in the Province of Pistoia in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 30 km west of Florence and about 10 km south of Pistoia.-External links:*...
, Tuscany, Italy. Cavendish is currently in a relationship with glamour model and Page Three girl Peta Todd
Peta Todd
Peta Louise Todd is an English glamour model and Page Three girl.-Career:Todd first appeared on The Sun newspaper's Page 3 when she was 18. She took time out of her modelling career in 2006 to have her son Finnbar but returned to Page 3 soon after...
. On 22 October 2011, the couple announced via the media that Todd is pregnant.